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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Rob.

And I'm Sam.

As awful as the coronavirus pandemic has been,

it's also highlighted the compassionate side of human nature.

Doctors and nurses helping the sick.

Yes, and people helping out elderly relatives and neighbours raising money for charity

or wearing a face mask to keep others safe.

But the pandemic has also highlighted a more worrying issue,

called compassion fatigue. Have you heard of that, Sam?

Yes, I think compassion fatigue is a kind of emotional exhaustion,

which reduces your ability to empathise or feel compassion for others.

Yes, exactly, Sam. Compassion fatigue has long been a problem for people working in medical

professions, and it's the topic of this programme.

We'll be hearing how the suffering and unhappiness we see on the TV news can increase

feelings of helplessness.

But first, let me ask you my quiz question, Sam.

Humanitarian workers see human suffering on a daily basis,

and can easily fall victim to compassion fatigue.

Founded in 1971, medicine's song Frontier is one of the biggest humanitarian organisations.

But what does medicine's song Frontier mean?

Is it a medicine to the frontline,

...